


baby, it's as good as it gets

by magique



Series: abandoned bbys [3]
Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kid Fic, M/M, s1e05 Ball and Chain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-26
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-12-03 17:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magique/pseuds/magique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’ve got a theory,” Audrey says when she emerges from the lighthouse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	baby, it's as good as it gets

**Author's Note:**

> title from "a million ways" by ok go. 
> 
> the first scene of a story that would run with audrey being right: the father holding the baby first saves his life. because i love kidfic to a degree that is probably abnormal and there is no way i wouldn't take advantage of this.

“I’ve got a theory,” Audrey says when she emerges from the lighthouse. “When Beatrice holds the baby, the father dies, so maybe if the _father_ holds the baby first…. I don’t. I don’t even know if this will work, but just hold his arms out, okay?”

They’ve got no second chances with the shallow rise and fall of Duke’s wrinkled, old-man chest, but there’s nothing else, no other options, so Nathan slides his forearms under Duke’s, curls his palms under Duke’s elbows, and watches Audrey lower the baby between them. Nathan can’t feel the weight of her in his arms or the warmth emanating from her blanket and from Duke’s legs, but he almost, _almost_ remembers the sensation. 

Jean is nine minutes and thirteen seconds old when her father’s eyes flutter open and the grey dissolves from his hair. He looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks, with bags dark under heavy-lidded eyes, but most of the wrinkles have faded away and his arms reflexively take her weight for themselves. 

“Why am I holding this baby?” Duke croaks, and Audrey emits a startled gasp of a laugh. Duke’s gaze wanders up from where Nathan is still touching him, says, wonderingly, “Hi, Nathan,” in that achy, gravely whisper of a voice.

“Duke,” Nathan says. He’s trying for impartial acknowledgement, but their faces are a breath apart and Duke can’t miss the way his name catches in Nathan’s throat. Nathan should know better by now; he’s never been capable of neutrality in any form where Duke’s concerned.

Less so now than ever. They’ve always had a string of connection between them, building exponentially over time with bleeding backs and drunken, teenage kisses and explosive, painless fights until that string had become a heavy, knotted rope that drew them ever closer. It feels like someone’s taken to that rope with a hunting knife; there’s only one strand left, holding the fraying edges together, and it shouldn’t scare Nathan the way it does that Duke was almost lost to him.

“Nathan,” Duke says again, softly and thick with meaning. 

_I’m glad you’re okay_ , Nathan almost says, but Jean shifts and seizes back Duke’s attention. Nathan’s given away too much already; it’s a relief not to have Duke’s eyes on him anymore.

“No, really, what’s with the baby?” 

“She saved your life,” Audrey says and it jolts Nathan back to reality where Audrey just saw much more than Nathan would have chosen to reveal. He’s doing a lot of that today. 

Duke laughs, but he stops short when Audrey doesn’t join in, when he sees the serious, concerned downturn of her mouth. 

“Duke, she’s your daughter.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm whatevermortal on [tumblr](http://whatevermortal.tumblr.com/) & also [dreamwidth](http://whatevermortal.dreamwidth.org/) and i _always_ want new fandom buddies on both yo


End file.
